Modern life and the Child's Spirit.

spir·it (sprt)n. Definition.

a. The vital principle or animating force within living beings.

Do you ever find that elements of modern life can seem at odds with your spirit?

  I remember as a child I kept trying to find ways to heal and replenish my spirit.

 Sometimes that meant doing nothing much in particular.

Sometimes it meant immersing myself in music or writing pages and pages of poetry that would only ever see the light glimmer from the dust on my bedroom floor.

These deep soul cleanses too quickly became linked to a shameful feeling that I wasn't tough enough, productive enough or even "normal" enough to get along with the customary portion of social, academic or structured events.

My soul became brittle over time.

I began to forget the magic of my childhood heart.

Disengaged

 I have come to see now that many people learn to disengage from communion with their spirit

They detach themselves from their inner being as a coping mechanism to deal with the demands of a life that has become overwhelmingly centered on material goals.

And it's not their fault.

This is the way things have become.

Slowly yet definably.

Expectations

Society's expectations about emotions and children's emotions in particular is oftentimes unhealthy and judgmental. 

People who have compromised their own emotions are often impatient dealing with the emotional responses of others.

Yet an authentic, compassionate life is one that embraces the messy, scribbled lines and the coloured over edges.

 Priorities

As long as my children's spirits are nurtured first everything else will naturally fall into place.

I am learning this lesson.

They are teaching me this lesson day, after day.

And I often fail at assimilating it, but when I make mistakes, I try to be honest with them and ask their thoughts, their forgiveness their time and their co operation.

We are in this thing together.

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”

Stephen R. Covey